So have the sports and tactics. Back then, it was still more a bullseye gun, and melted BoMars not even a dream. I still have a stippled, bomarred bullseye gun around here somewhere, on a Rem/Rand. Still have my dad's C 1911 Govt Model around here somewhere, too, kinda hid in shame, my mom was a first rate pack rat, never let go of anything, talking cancelled checks of her grandmother still in a box, never carried or used a gun, but wanted to keep it, and finally let go of it, her idea of keeping stuff to just pack away wrapped and hidden, and it a horror by the time she made the sacrifice of letting it go. Not worth even selling for parts, but, the first gun I ever fired (again, about 8yrs behind you) so.....many others have come and gone, since then, a few have stayed.

I prefer bone stock, though. Well, bone stock GI, nearly, the gun as delivered aside from GI feedlip stainless mags, GI Vietnam era brown water Navy black grips, and GI length short trigger, the only mods. Ticks like a Swiss watch/runs as a new GI gun a legend for doing through two world wars.

Those 1911s are super nice.
Years ago most folks would say that the recoil of the 1911s were fierce.
I basically consider it somewhat of a gentle push. Much nicer than the 40 S&W (short & weak)
They have to push the 40 S&W at about 35+ thousand psi to almost achieve what the 45 acp does at about 19,000 psi.

Obviously,I prefer the 45 acp.

Wayne

Thanks for the compliments on what are very plain Jane milspec guns, still, and which have a much smaller printing footprint than any of the melted bells and whistles extended beavertail guns. As an fyi, the Series 80 plain guns were dropped from the catalog this year, blued and stainless, I think the blued plain Govt Model (misnamed Series 70 by everybody to where Colt surrendered and named it the same) is still being made.

Even funnier, as for misnaming, with the Govt Model currently called the Series 70 Govt Model (even though no split collet bushing as the Series 70 introduced), it left the Govt Model name open for use on....you guessed it, the Series 80 guns. My stainless gun is a Series 80, but currently indicates nowhere at all that it is such. The opposite side slide says only COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL in small rollmark, where formerly it said SERIES 80 in same small font. All of which makes ME happy, anyhow, as my pet peeve of the Series 70 was the split collet and name change, and pet peeve of the Series 80 was it saying so at all. I like plain simple COLT GOVERNMENT MODEL, and got it.

Production this year on all the bells and whistles guns with rails, especially Commander sized. The size I can see, but I know of no non-LEO civilian who constantly carries a light on a gun, and why have a Commander for a bedside table gun if size of no consequence?

Poor Colt workers, dealing with management brain trust, and fickle public buying looks, and making an all cast and MIM gun (aside from barrel) a giant in the 1911 world and outselling the original forged machined spec gun, only for looks. As mentioned before, Colt still has one guy assembling and fitting/checking each gun from start to finish. Old school.

And Wayne, I totally agree as to the round, it does more work at lower pressure with less hooplah. The rep of kicking as a mule was from the fairly recent no earplugs days, no denying the ol' fohty fahv a boomer, which made recoil seem Richter scale. The alternative round which is impressing me is what has been done with the 9mm, which is now the functional equiv of modern downloaded (for all the snubbies) .357 Magnum. Even the G43 gets 1250fps+ with a lot of the 115gr JHP, but, that is for a diffenrent thread.

I agree with you on all of the above.

In my opinion,things were so much easier way back when a 1911 was,well..................a 1911.

And years ago,before hearing protection was the norm,the boom of the 1911 was quite interesting for new shooters,particularly those in the Military who never had a firearm before.

Of course the 9mm vs 45 debate will always go on but to be honest with you,I would not care to stop either one or a 22 short for that matter.

Been there,done that (7.62 X 39,SKS)

Wayne

Here's another bone stocker except for the Hogue grips. Really fun to shoot and runs like it was meant to. 7 or 8 round mags, no worries.

Wayne, as the old saw goes, there are many detractors of (fill in the blank) caliber, but I have yet to have one volunteer to be shot with one.

It was formerly said in stopping power statistics (and they have a specific definition of stop, meaning ceased and desisted and ran no more than x feet, and how they can get that from every shooting is beyond me), it was shown that NO handgun round "stopped" much less than 50% of the time, and none of the stats count being shot 2-6 times which is always more effective.

My dad had three purple hearts, and I have zero, and when others had far worse, and makes that survivor's guilt thing hard to take, at times, but everybody has that, even from natural death, so nothing really special, or should not be except we all feel special and entitled at times. As for you, I hope you at least got a ChiCom SKS outta the deal. If you didn't, it may be a little late, but I can hook you up with one.

Before the above stainless, Pat, I had only one other stainless Colt, and that was a GCNM, which really was more as the new stainless rather than the Trophy, Very nice gun you have, and i bet it IS a pussycat to shoot.

Main difference between the old GCNM and a plain new stainless being bushing, Elliason pinned rear (where any owner well advised to switch to a solid tool steel substitute pin, whether from a small allen key, drill bit, whatever), and the doofy buffer spring to prevent hammer follow just stuck in sear face, which fell out on disassembly and probably holds the honor of the world's smallest coil spring.

But, missing that gun is what drove the new stainless gun, and could not be happier (except with a NIB WWII gun to denew).

LATE PS, rather than another separate post. I gotta be honest, though, having spent most of life with gear on, strapped in tight and right, packs, loaded belts, the pure weight of it all, and getting to where I could and can hardly wait to be shed of all the junk...

have gone from a guy who for most of life has toted the largest caliber and biggest blade possible, to going much lighter today. Still have a 32 " waist, but enjoying freedom of trousers and belt not cinched tight, with me the pack mule for the masters.

I keep a lot of stuff handy, but the days of carrying a 1911, a Model 16, and steel Bodyguard for backup, and the auto knife, and the MiniMag and a puukko and etc etc etc are about done. Today it more likely to be a long gun in auto/truck along with a serious knife, and on person perhaps the G43, an old issue SAK, and maybe the MiniMag.

All of that changes, suchlike, sure a 1911 or a SAA but that's about it aside from a SAK that day, and whooboy, glad to put it down when day is done. And totin' heavy iron corset just gets more and more gonna take a sentimental journey, than daily knightly in rusty clanking armor.

Lofty,
Have the SKS. The only thing that I have done to it over the years is put a set of Williams peep sights on it and a "glow" front sight.

I put about 80 rounds through it each year and it is in the truck box with eight stripper clips.

Nice set of 1911s you have there.

Wayne